Most dam wall failures we're called to were visible months earlier. Walk your walls each dry season and look for these five things.
1. Wet ground below the wall
A damp patch or soft ground on the downstream face when the rest of the paddock is dry means water is finding a path through.
2. Burrow holes
Rabbits, wombats and yabbies turn a solid wall into a sponge. Holes through the core are one of the most common causes of a blowout.
3. Trees growing on the wall
Roots create channels, and a tree that falls takes a chunk of your wall with it.
4. Slumping or cracking along the crest
A dip, step or crack along the top of the wall means the fill is moving.
5. A spillway cutting back
If your overflow is scouring and working its way back toward the wall, it needs shaping and often rock protection.
We repair walls, desilt dams and build new ones through Gympie, Corella, Curra, Glastonbury and surrounds. Best time to do it is at the bottom of the dry.